RESOURCE CENTRE OF DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE,TRANSPARENCY,ACCOUNTABILITY,AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EMERGING DEMOCRACIES IN THE HORN OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. THE BLOG IS TRI-LINGUAL: ENGLISH, SOMALI AND ARABIC.
There is no democracy without effective opposition. And there is no effective opposition without free and independent media.
CONTACT: samotalis@gmail.com

Hosni Mubarak appears in court days after release

The former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has appeared in court, three days after being released from prison and placed under house arrest.

Mr Mubarak is facing a retrial on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

He sat in the defendants' cage along with his two sons, former interior minister, and six security chiefs.

Earlier, the separate trial of the Muslim Brotherhood's general guide and his two deputies was adjourned.

The court convened briefly and made its decision because Mohammed Badie, Khairat al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi were absent for security reasons.

Their presence was requested for the trial's resumption on 29 October.

The Brotherhood leaders face charges of inciting the murder of protesters who stormed the Islamist movement's headquarters in Cairo on 30 June as millions took to the streets demanding the resignation of Mr Mubarak's democratically elected successor, Mohammed Morsi.

Mr Morsi was deposed by the military three days later.

He is is being detained while prosecutors investigate allegations related to his escape from prison during the uprising that forced Mr Mubarak from power, including that he conspired with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Helicopter

On Sunday, Mr Mubarak appeared in the dock inside the high-security courtroom at the police academy on the eastern outskirts of Cairo sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a white tracksuit and dark sunglasses.

Cases against MubarakKilling of demonstrators in 2011, "influence-peddling" and profiting from the export of gas to IsraelIllicit gainAllegations of appropriating for his family funds allocated annually for upkeep of presidential palacesReceipt of gifts from state-owned press institutions

The 85-year-old was reportedly flown by helicopter to the court from a military hospital where he has been held under house arrest since his release from prison on Thursday. The hearing has been adjourned until 14 September.

Mr Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison in June 2012 after being found guilty of complicity in the killing of hundreds of protesters. His former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, also received a life sentence, but the security chiefs were acquitted.

The former president and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, were cleared of separate charges of corruption relating to a gas export deal at the same trial because of the statute of limitations.

In January 2013, the Court of Cassation accepted appeals against their convictions by Mr Mubarak and Mr Adly and ordered a retrial of all the defendants. Their supporters had noted that the original trial judge had said there was no evidence linking Mr Mubarak to the shooting of protesters.

Their retrial began in May but it has been repeatedly adjourned for various reasons, prompting claims from pro-democracy activists and representatives of the victims that the judges and defence team were dragging out proceedings to avoid a verdict.

On Thursday, Mr Mubarak was moved from a prison cell to house arrest at the hospital in Maadi, ending more than two years of incarceration.

It came a day after a court ruled that he could no longer be detained in relation to a separate corruption case that alleges he accepted gifts from the state-run publisher, al-Ahram. He has already served the maximum time allowed in custody in connection to the complicity case.

Under President Morsi, state prosecutors brought new charges when courts ordered Mr Mubarak's release to ensure he was kept in detention. Alaa and Gamal Mubarak are being held on multiple corruption charges